Art Cars Arrive at the Nave Museum For Upcoming Event.

Victoria drivers may see more than just cars and trucks Saturday on area streets.

Elaborately designed art cars, hydraulic lowriders and personalized bicycles will participate in the Victoria Art Car Parade hosted by The Nave Museum.

"It's so fantastic to see the variety of how people express themselves with the cars," said Amy Leissner, the museum's executive director, of the parade. "I love being able to pull in the lowrider vehicles from Corpus Christi and from here in Victoria because they take just as much pride and artistry in their vehicles as an art car. I love that combination of bringing them together."

This will be the fourth year to host an event for the art cars and the second year to host a parade of arts through downtown.

More than 50 cars will be in the parade that ends at the Nave. The cars will rally outside the museum, where people can take a closer look at the detail and skill the artists and car owners have put into their rides.

Inside the Nave, Carter Ernst's exhibit, "Fur Bitten," will be open to the public and free for the day. Her nature-inspired artwork will cover the walls, and sculptures will stand tall among the crowds of art lovers.

"It's a fascinating combination of surreal and whimsy," Leissner said of Ernst's work. "She has a lot of sly humor in her work, and it's very fun and colorful."

Ernst marries natural forms with found objects, including fake fur and man-made fabrics to create her life-size sculptures, Leissner said.

As with any art form, the new exhibit will be subject to each individual's interpretation, and Leissner said children will be the most interested in the sculptures.

The Carter Ernst exhibit will be up until June 23 along with children's art from the Manhattan Art Program.

Maura Sheehan, executive director of the program, is thrilled to show off the art car sculptures designed and created by children who participate at the Pine Street Community Center program. The goal is to bring art to area youngsters who have not experienced a lot of art in their schools, Sheehan said.

The students worked hard to create art cars with the idea of mobility in mind, and the results were "wildly imaginative."

"The commitment of these youngsters is really evident," she said. "They got really involved in the idea of animals as cars. There are cars that are rhinoceros-like, dinosaur cars, elephant cars, a kitty-cat car and a fish car."

She said she is always excited to see the reactions of the kids when they see their artwork on display at a museum.

"Once they see it in the case, in the museum, it changes everything," she said. "They turn pink with pride, and they just want to stand by it so that everyone will know that this (piece) is theirs."

Story courtesy of the Victoria Advocate